Bulletproof
by thesherlockedwriterof221b
Summary: Sherlock and John have a hate-hate relationship. How will they cope as roommates? High school AU Teen!Lock Rated M for swearing and stuff yet to come...
1. Watson

**A/N: **Hellooo everyone. Here we are again! I know I said I would go back to some of my other fanfics and focus on those for a while before starting anything new, but WHOOPS. That didn't go quite as planned. This is (another) high school AU Teen!Lock (yesyes, I like writing these) and hopefully, it won't turn out like _A Flawed Design_, because really – we don't need a repeat, do we? Anyhoo, here it is. Leave a review (if you want – don't feel pressured) to let me know your thoughts on it c: (Just a quick mention – if you haven't read anything else by me, I generally **don't **reply to reviews because I'm awkward and don't know what to say. If you **want **a reply or have a specific query about anything, all you have to do is ask, and I would be happy to oblige.) If you want, you can follow me on Tumblr (always the first to be updated when new chapters are added) at thesherlockedwriterof221b c: I will probably follow you back if you do.

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I don't own anything. The majority of these characters belong to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and BBC, and as I don't see that changing anytime soon, that goes for the entirety of this fanfic. Also, there is likely to be a fair bit of swearing in this one, possibly some het pairings, likely to be some non-het pairings too – so if any of that offends you, feel free to go select a different fanfic more to your liking. No harm done c: Any resemblance of characters or places etc to real people, places, etc is purely coincidental.

Now that's all sorted out, here is the first chapter of _Bulletproof._

* * *

_Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!_

I flung an arm out to silence my alarm. It signalled one thing – the beginning of another year. Another year stuck with the utter imbeciles who only got into one of the country's top educational institutes by sheer affiliation and affluence. Another year of utter boredom. Another year of being hated by everyone. I groaned as there was a knock on my door.

'Get up now! You're already late.' My mother's voice called through the door.

I hauled myself out of bed and tugged on the hideous uniform designed and imposed on us by the sadistic associate principal. Though it was apparently very "smart-looking" and "respectable", it was by far one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen. The standard white shirt and black pants weren't _that _bad, but the mustard yellow and crimson striped tie with an equally horrific yellow vest and red blazer just were not ever going to look good. I skipped the vest and tie, throwing them in my bag for later – without a doubt I would be forcibly made to put them on in the name of "school pride".

'Sherlock, hurry up!'

'Honestly, I'm coming!'I yelled back down the stairs, making a quick check around my room to be sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I grabbed my bag off the floor and my phone off my desk before stalking moodily down to the kitchen.

'No vest, no tie.' My mother _tsk_ed disapprovingly. 'You know they will only make you put them on anyway, yes?'

'Unfortunately. In the meantime, however, I would like to keep my dignity intact until classes officially start next week.'

'Fair enough.' She grabbed her keys. 'All your stuff is already in the car. Ready to go?'

I sighed. 'Yes.'

'Good. Let's go then.' My mother left the kitchen and noisily opened the door, waiting impatiently for me to exit the house. 'Wait,' she put her arm out as I passed. 'Hand it over.'

'Hand what over?'

'Lighter. And the matches.' She stretched her hand out.

I rolled my eyes and pulled them out of my pocket. 'You know I can just get some more.'

'Yes, I do. But you can't leave school grounds the first two weeks, so just give me that small window of your being smokefree.' She dumped them on a side table. 'Now, hurry up or we _will _be late.'

* * *

'Welcome back everyone!' The associate principal was giving us our "welcome back" speech. The same one she recited every year. I might as well just tune out now. 'Holmes, where is your vest? And your tie?' She squawked.

'My bag, Ms Hall.' I replied firmly.

'Why are they there, may I ask?'

Wow. She had actually stopped her entire speech to lecture me on proper school attire. Must be time to scare the younger students and make an example of me. 'My vest and tie are in my bag because they do not deserve to see the light of day, Ms Hall.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'They are hideous, Ms Hall.' I stated calmly. 'I should not be forced to wear them, and neither should anyone else, because they are an abomination.'

Ms Hall turned spectacularly red. 'Mr Holmes, you will watch your tongue-'

'Why? Is it going somewhere?' I heard a few people snicker quietly – they didn't want to be called out.

'Mr Holmes, you will cease talking and put on correct school uniform, lest you wish to get detention on your first day back.'

I smiled and leant back in my chair. 'Of course not, Ms Hall.'

'Good.' She turned from me and continued her speech.

When she had finally finished, we – the older portion of the student body – left the assembly hall to find our assigned dorm rooms. I could only hope that this year I had no roommate. Last year, it was brilliant not having to share and, seeing as nobody ever wanted to share with me _anyway_, I hoped that this year was the same. Of course, when I got to my dorm, the placard was taken up with another name, not just my own.

* * *

John Watson. Of course. Why not. Put me in the room with the captain of the football team, and one of the most popular people in school. Sure – it would be _fun_. Though we had been in the same school since we were five, we never talked. We had never had any classes with each other, though despite this, we were both well known to each other.

He was known to the school as John Watson – footballer, good student, popular and an apparent "ladies' man". I was known as Sherlock Holmes – nonsporty, a top student more intelligent than half the staff combined, antisocial and _gay freak_. Though that was nearly all that was known about me, the details of John's life were general knowledge to the student body.

His parent's were fairly well-off – he was the son of a Doctor and Police Detective; and he had an older sister – who had caused a lot of controversy in her time at this school by dating both the captain of the rugby time and his girlfriend simultaneously. He had recently gone through a messy break up with his long-term girlfriend after they had a minor disagreement and was therefore "on the market". With his admittedly good looks, sandy blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes and obvious musculature, it was no wonder that several girls had their eyes on him. None had so far been returned, but then again – it was only the first day.

My thoughts were interrupted by the man – the _legend _– himself walking in, pulling in his wake two large suitcases with several bags stacked on the handles. He looked over to where I was sitting on an armchair and rolled his eyes. I could practically _hear _his thoughts.

_Oh God. Not that prick, Sherlock Holmes. Better watch out or he'll get me in my sleep._

I grimaced and turned my attention to my phone. A text had come through from my brother.

_Text from: Mycroft Holmes_

_Mummy has gone to France already, so I'm in charge of you. Be good or I'm stopping your allowance. –MH_

I groaned. 'Fantastic.'

_What I have I done now?! –SH_

'What?' John asked loudly.

I looked up. 'What?'

'You said "fantastic". What's fantastic?'

'None of your business.' I muttered.

'It's my business if you're going to try and get off with me.'

_For fuck's sake. _'You're not serious are you.'

_Text from: Mycroft Holmes_

_I heard you were rude to Ms Hall. Threat of detention on your first day back? And classes haven't even started yet. This has got to be a new record. –MH_

_You know as well as I do that the vest and tie are both abominations. –SH_

'You were staring at my ass. While I appreciate your interest, I don't bat for your team.' John remarked.

'I was _not _staring at your ass. No offence, I know you're very "popular", but you're not my type.' I retorted.

'Then why did you say "fantastic"?'

'It's none of your _business_. I wasn't acknowledging your ass, nor was I commenting on anything to do with you. If I _wanted _you to know what I was talking about, I would have _told _you.'

'Wow,' John shook his head. 'Someone's on their guy period, huh?' He receded into his room and shut the door.

_Text from: Mycroft Holmes_

_Tell me you didn't say that. –MH_

_I thought it should be made known. So to answer your question, yes. I did. –SH_

_Fine. Whatever. How's school? –MH_

_My roommate is a Neanderthal. I've already been accused of checking him out, and we were only in the room together for three minutes. Tell me you can rearrange my living situation here. –SH_

_Afraid not. Maybe it will be good for you to have some social interaction. Who is he? –MH_

_John Watson. –SH_

_Ah yes, the Detective's son. I've heard he's quite a nice boy. –MH_

_You probably heard that from his father. He's just the same as the rest of them here. –SH_

_That might be a bit harsh, Sherlock. Give him a chance. –MH_

_What do you know that I don't? –SH_

_I'm not saying anything. See if you can figure it out for yourself. I'm sure all will be revealed eventually. –MH_

_You know how I hate riddles. –SH_

_Yes, yes I do. Leave me alone now, Sherlock. Unlike you, some of us have jobs and lives that need tending to. Just be good, or no allowance. –MH_

_Fine. I'll try to keep my thoughts to myself, shall I? –SH_

_Oh, I would so love to see that. –MH_

* * *

I was still sitting in the same chair when John came back out with his laptop. 'Oh Jesus. Have you even moved?'

I turned to look at him. 'Yes.'

I scanned John to see if there was any suggestion as to what Mycroft was talking about. Nothing had changed drastically. Hair still vaguely unkempt – hint of product this year though. Recently added, past few minutes. He had tried to spike it, and had evidently failed miserably. We weren't going anywhere for the next few hours. Why had he made an attempt at his hair? Maybe talking to someone via the webcam of his computer? No, he would have stayed in his room for that. Probably wouldn't want me to know any details of his private life. So perhaps there was someone from a different room coming here? No, no one was permitted to leave their rooms yet. Surely he hadn't attempted to spike his hair for _my _benefit? I moved to a different area – clothing. Jeans, normal. Dark blue, straight legged design. Shirt, normal. T-shirt with some strange design on it. A van Gogh-style painting with a blue police box in it – probably some reference to pop culture. No socks or shoes, but neatly maintained feet. Fingernails too were nicely kept. No jewellery to observe. I took a quick sniff of the air – a waft of deodorant. Ugh. Disgusting choice of scent. Overpowering anyway, but it seemed like John had taken the liberty to empty an entire can on himself.

Deduction: John _had _changed, only if by the smallest of margins. More attention was being paid to his hair and – from what I could tell – general hygiene. Despite the overuse of deodorant, John appeared to be making an effort for someone. For some Godforsaken reason he had decided to do it now. Must be time to torture the roommate.

'What are you looking at?'

'Hmm?'

'You were staring at me. If you're going to picture me naked, do it in your own room, okay?'

I set my jaw and it clicked audibly. 'You might not have understood when I said, _you're not my type_.'

'Sure sure.' He turned his attention to his laptop.

'Do you really have such a high opinion of yourself that you think everyone must fancy you? Really? That's pathetic. All the girls seem to love you, why not chuck the gay guy in there too? Obviously _I _must think like a girl, so therefore I _must_ like you.' I stood up and loomed over him. 'Well, John, you're most certainly _wrong _on that account. And the fact that you keep suggesting I want to get with you is already starting to become annoying. So, with that in mind, keep it to yourself, or I will make your life _hell _while you're my roommate. Understood?'

John's eyes had widened periodically in alarm during my small outburst, and he was attempting to lean away from me. 'Dude, take a chill pill.'

'I am _perfectly _calm. Tell me, is that understood?' I pressed.

'Yeah, yeah, whatever.'

I stood straight and as I walked towards my room, I heard John mutter: '_Freak_.'

I stopped and chuckled quietly. 'You know I have exceptional hearing, yes?' I turned back to him. 'Besides, that word has lost all effect on me.'

He rolled his eyes. 'I get the feeling you don't like me much.'

'Tell me, however did you come to that conclusion?'

'You seem quite cold towards me. Is it because-'

'I swear to God. If you say _"Is it because you like me?"_ I will punch you in the face. Actually no. Your head is so thick you wouldn't feel it. I'll kick you in the balls if you ever make another remark like that to me. And to answer yourquestion, no. I don't like you. Romantically _or_ otherwise.'

'Dude-'

'I do not _need _a chill pill.'

'It's just a joke.' John said defensively.

'It is not a joke to constantly make remarks relating to one's sexuality, okay? Just because I'm gay does _not_ mean that I automatically want to get with you. It does _not _mean that I check you out whenever you walk into a room, or bend over. It does _not _mean you have the right to treat me like a freak.' I fumed.

'Fine, fine. Whatever. You usually never react like this.'

'That's because no one else is smart enough to realise what they're saying. They do it to get a rise out of me. But _you_, you're smart, John. You know exactly what you're doing. You only do it because they do, and if you didn't they would call you out as being gay as well.' I sighed. 'My brother told me he had heard that you were a nice person – a good guy. I don't know anymore. I used to think you were different, that you _were_ a good guy, though now I'm starting to wonder.' I shook my head. 'But whatever. It doesn't matter what I think. And you would just interpret it as romantic interest again.' With that, I went to my room, shut the door and picked up my violin.


	2. Bored

**A/N: **Well. After a rather good response to the first chapter of this, I (obviously) wrote a few more chapters. Because that's how much I love you guys. I write this instead of sleeping and doing homework. And I have a lot of homework to finish in the next... three of four days. So last night, I finished this chapter off and a third chapter too, so I hope you enjoy those too c: I was going to start a fourth (which I'm rather excited about actually... ehehehe) but I decided that I should probably get _some _sleep. Anyhoo, here you go c:

* * *

I played my violin for several hours, and a few times I heard furious knocking on my door – which I elected to ignore. Eventually when I put it down, there was another knock at my door.

'What?'

The door opened slowly and John's head appeared through the crack. 'You missed dinner, so I got you something to eat, as an apology.' His hand snaked through the gap as well, holding a plate. 'I figured you probably don't like burgers and pizza, so I got you a... Panini, I think it's called. So, um, sorry. For what I said. You're right, I guess. You shouldn't be treated like a freak.' He dropped the plate on my desk and retreated, shutting the door behind himself.

I got up and as I ate the Panini, sent a text to Mycroft.

_Seems the Neanderthal is evolving. –SH_

_Oh? How so? –MH_

_We had a bit of a... Spat earlier. He just apologised. And brought me a Panini from the kitchen. –SH_

_I won't say I told you so, but I did say. –MH_

_You did, but how long will it last? –SH_

_No idea. Have fun finding out. –MH_

* * *

I went to bed early that night, despite that I never spent much time sleeping if I could help it. There was just nothing else to do. The first week back was always the worst. Orientation was the day after arrival, then for the next three days, you were supposed to do revision for classes and were pretty much confined to dorm rooms – to "get to know" your roommate so you were "comfortable" with them. We weren't allowed to go into town, we weren't allowed to visit friends in other rooms, and there was no homework if you had no revision. Yes, there was wireless internet, but eventually even that got boring. Books too – usually I could read for hours, but the effect of them just seemed lost on me. So I took to lying on my bed, memorising the ceiling pattern. That, and organising with Mycroft to have my room refurbished. The single bed was not going to work, nor was the tiny bookshelf.

The one thing we _were _allowed to do at this school was shop. Granted – it was by the internet, but if we wanted to buy something over the internet and could afford to, the school didn't mind our ordering things and having them delivered to the dorm halls. This meant that plenty of girls had taken to ordering massive amounts of clothes and shoes, and I had taken to ordering books. Many, many books.

The unlimited internet also meant that people had taken to using it for _other _things – seeing as the school didn't see the point in blocking websites if people were just going to hack the system and go on them anyway. This meant there was a risk that if you walked into someone's room – particularly _boys _– then there was a chance you'd see more than you bargained for.

Seeing as this year I was going to be sharing a room (suite rather – it was two bedrooms joined with a centre area and bathroom) with someone else, I decided to put some ground rules into play.

* * *

'John, are you busy?' I asked through his door.

'Not at the moment,' came the reply. 'Why?'

'Can we talk for a minute?'

The door opened. 'About?'

'Ground rules.'

'Agreed.' He came out of his room and sprawled out over one of the chairs. Well, maybe _sprawled _is being generous. He stretched out over a chair. He was too small to _sprawl_. 'Do you want to start?'

'Sure. Don't come into my room without knocking, and don't touch my stuff.'

He nodded. 'Same for me. Also, warn the other before bringing... company back.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'I doubt that will be an issue for me, but noted. Anything else?'

'Nope. I think that pretty much covers it.' John rubbed his jaw. 'Oh, don't hog the bathroom.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Very presumptuous of you. I don't take very long. I'd be more concerned about _you_ in the bathroom.'

'Thanks. Are we finished here?' he asked standing.

'Unless you have anything else to discuss.'

'I don't.'

'Then we're done.'

'Great.' He went back to his room and shut the door. So far, John was turning out to be a very quiet roommate. I wondered how long it would last.

* * *

'SHERLOCK, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!' John shrieked, bursting through the door.

'Bored.'

'What?'

'Bored! BORED!' I shot at the wall again.

'Where the hell did you get a gun from?!'

'I have my ways.' I rolled my eyes. 'Besides, it's not real.' I fired again.

'Then why are you shooting the wall?'

'The wall had it coming.'

'Give me your gun.' John commanded, hand outstretched.

'No. You don't have the right to take it from me.'

'Then stop shooting things.' He replied, leaving the room again.

Brilliant. He wasn't quiet. A roommate with a habit to walk in and out, go from ignoring me to ordering me around in the space of a minute, and apparently had mood swings. John was more like me than he realised.

* * *

'Will you stop with the violin playing?' John called tiredly through the door. 'Please. It's 2am, Sherlock.'

'Perfectly aware, thank you.' I replied gleefully. 'And no, I won't.'

'Why the hell not?'

'It helps me think.'

The door opened and John stepped in. He made a grab for my violin, but I blocked his arm and sent him crashing into the wall.

'That wasn't very diplomatic.' I grinned. 'Go back to bed.'

'Will you stop?' John asked groggily.

'No, but I'll play something less upbeat if it makes any difference.'

'It won't.'

'Then go back to bed and stop complaining.'

'Ugh.' John rolled his eyes and paused at the door as he left. 'I'm asking for a different roommate.'

'They won't change it.' I warned. 'You'd just be wasting your time.'

'It's worth a shot if I get rid of you.' He muttered, shutting the door.

* * *

The first official day of school finally rolled round, and for the first time ever, John and I had a class together. More than one, in fact – History, English and Maths.

The teachers allowed us to sit wherever we wanted, and I wasn't surprised when John chose to sit with his friends. I was, however, surprised to find myself feeling slightly offended. As usual, I ended up at the front of class, in the corner, by myself. Molly sat in the row behind me, but she was sitting with her friends as well.

She was the only person I considered close to a friend. When we were younger – seven, I believe – she had followed me around and pestered me until I had finally talked to her. She was nice to me when everyone else wasn't, and told me she was always there should I need someone to talk to.

As a special present to us, the English teacher we had been given for the year – Mr Redwell – gave us a first assignment. Our task was to research a genre of our choosing by studying a range of six texts – books, movies, poetry or anything else he declared suitable – and making connections between them.

'But because it's the first task of the year, you can do it in groups!' Mr Redwell grinned happily as the class sighed with relief. 'And because I'm such a nice teacher, I have saved you the difficulty of choosing a partner by doing it for you.' The sigh of relief turned to one of horror.

'Well I refuse to work with the _fre_- I mean, _Sherlock_.' One of John's acquaintances, a boy called Anderson commented lightly from the back of the room.

'If you're paired with him, you will work together. No arguments.' Mr Redwell replied. He started reading off the pairs and I was relieved when he called out: 'Anderson and Molly.'

I felt sorry for Molly, but I knew she would be okay – Molly was generally liked by everyone.

'And finally, Sherlock and John.' Mr Redwell said, folding his piece of paper.

'Well John, you really lucked out there.' Anderson sniggered.

'Anderson, shut up.' John snapped.

Anderson closed his mouth and looked down at the table.

I couldn't help smiling slightly as I turned back towards the front.

* * *

'So what genre do you want to do?' John asked me. The seating arrangement had been changed so that pairs were together to start the project. We were expected to complete this as homework as well and had ten weeks to finish it.

I shrugged. 'I don't care, as long as it isn't boring.'

'That's really specific.'

'Mm.' I twirled my pen between my fingers. 'What's your opinion on classics?'

'Classics.'

'Yeah. Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde...' I suggested.

'Is that all you can come up with?'

'Something tells me you wouldn't be interested in murder-mysteries or textbooks.'

'You read textbooks for fun?'

'I suppose you could call it that. What if we do three _classic _classics, and three more _modern _classics. That way you choose three, I choose three.'

'Yeah, okay. I suppose that could work.' John nodded. 'What do you mean "modern" classic?'

'Things that are more well known in this society. Harry Potter, Twlight... That sort of thing.'

'There is no way in Hell I am reading Twilight.' John replied adamantly.

'I'm not suggesting we do. It was an example.' I rolled my eyes. 'Bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?'

'Leave me alone. How about we decide and talk about it later, yeah?'

I nodded. 'If you want.'

'Good. See you later.' John said, packing up as the bell rang for next class.


	3. Texts

As soon as classes had finished for the day, I went directly back to my dorm room. Like my Mother had told me, I was forced to wear the hideous vest and tie ensemble in order to promote "school pride". I didn't want to wear it for longer than necessary, so my primary objective in getting back to my room as fast as I could was to change out of my uniform.

I was changing when I heard the door shut and John burst into my room. 'John, if a door is shut, that means "Don't come in".'

'Wow. Um. Sorry.' He replied, continuing to stand in my doorway.

I turned calmly to face him. 'Did you want something?'

'We were going to work on the English project. I just wanted to check you were here.' He explained.

'And obviously a knock on my door, and verbal affirmation of my presence wouldn't suffice, so you decided to watch me change.' I leant back against my desk. 'Interesting.'

John rolled his eyes. 'When you've finished that, can we get started? I have other homework to do.'

'Finished what?'

'Testing to see if you have x-ray vision.'

'Excuse me?' I stood straight.

'Um.' John faltered.

'Right. Gay roommate. Everything I do has some sort of subtext, huh?'

'Well...'

'John, shut up. I'll meet you out there in five minutes.'

'Right.' He left the room, shutting the door.

_Looks like evolution of the Neanderthal has taken a backwards step. –SH_

_What do you mean? –MH_

_Apparently everything I do has some sort of subtext. –SH_

_Ah. Then stop acting so suggestive. –MH_

_What's that supposed to mean? –SH_

_Get some new shirts that actually fit. –MH_

_Oh yes, I'm sure that will help. Go eat some cake, Mycroft. –SH_

_I am, and it's delightful, thank you. Now, stop annoying me. –MH_

I put down my phone and went out to face John. He had pushed the chairs back to the walls to create a small space in the middle on the floor.

'I've decided on my texts. Two books and a movie.' He said proudly. 'Have you?'

'Of course. You start.' I said, sitting on the floor.

John opened his folder and started writing his titles as he spoke. 'My books are _The Da Vinci Code_ and _The Hunger Games_ and my movie is _Sweeney Todd_.'

I raised my eyebrows at his selection. 'The Hunger Games?'

'Yes. It's quite popular.' John said defensively.

'Okay, but would you call it a classic?' I reasoned. 'It's more of a phase, wouldn't you say?'

'No. It's there. Leave it alone. What are your selections?'

'As I already said, _Frankenstein_, _The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde_ and _The Picture of Dorian Gray_.'

'All books?'

'Yes, all books.'

'That means we only have one movie.' John said sadly.

'Would you prefer that I choose a movie also?'

'Honestly, yes. Movies you can watch in about two hours, but depending how fast you read, it could take ages to read a book.'

I sighed. 'What if I choose a movie adaption of a classic story?'

'Like..?'

'Alice in Wonderland?' I suggested. 'Apparently that's a movie as well.'

John nodded. 'It's quite good.'

'Okay then. We'll go with that instead of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_.'

'Good.' John put down his pen. 'Now that's done...' he stood up and gathered his things before going into his room. 'I have homework. See you later.'

* * *

It was about 2am, and I had just put my violin down and turned out my light when I got a text.

_Are you still up? –JW_

It was John. Huh. We had exchanged numbers on the off chance we should need to contact each other, but now he was using it for social purposes. Weird.

_Obviously. What do you want? –SH_

The reply took a few minutes, like John had been deciding what to say.

_Nothing. Sorry for bothering you. –JW_

I dismissed it, but about 10 minutes later, another text came through.

_Actually... I've got Sweeney Todd on my computer. Want to watch it tomorrow? We could get a headstart on the English thingy. –JW_

_I suppose. As long as I'm not expected to eat popcorn. –SH_

_Haha. No popcorn. Promise. –JW_

_Good. Sweeney Todd tomorrow then. –SH_

_Okay. Night. –JW xx_

* * *

Part of me was slightly hesitant to watch the movie with John. Despite that I had seen the movie already, I wasn't sure how it would end up after John had started texting me throughout the day.

In maths, John struck up a short conversation with me:

_Hey. Do you get any of this? –JW_

_Of course. –SH_

_What do I do? –JW_

_Pay attention to what the teacher is saying, rather than texting me. –SH_

In history, I had encountered a similar situation:

_Are we ever meant to use this in real life? –JW_

_You chose the subject. –SH_

_Yeah, but I thought it would be interesting. –JW_

_Not everything is interesting, John. Sometimes you need to work through the boring parts to get to something good. –SH_

_How philosophical of you. Thank God we're starting a movie. –JW_

_Tell me you didn't take History to watch movies. –SH_

_No, but it's a nice surprise. Besides, Forrest Gump is highly relevant to the topic. –JW_

_I don't doubt. –SH_

We didn't need to text in English, seeing as we were together anyway – but John ignored me the entire period. We had gone to the library to find the books I didn't already have, so John spent the time on the opposite side of the library to me, in completely the wrong place.

The other two classes of the day, he texted me in as well. It seemed he was only ignoring me in person.

In chemistry I got:

_What class are you in? Geography is boring already. –JW_

_Chemistry. –SH_

_Exploding anything? –JW_

_Not today. –SH_

_When you do, take a video for my amusement. –JW_

_Not likely. –SH_

Then in Physics:

_Starting to regret taking Art and it's only the first lesson. –JW_

_I didn't know you took Art. –SH_

_There's a lot you don't know about me. –JW_

_I'll soon fix that. –SH_

_Ah... With your x-ray vision? –JW_

_Back there are we? –SH_

_That time was a joke. I was teasing you. –JW_

_Right. –SH_

_What are you in? –JW_

_Physics. –SH_

_Booooooooooring. You should have taken Art. I'm just waving my brush around and my teacher has declared me a "visionary". –JW_

_I don't doubt you are. –SH_

_No, really. This is a masterpiece. One day, it will sell for millions. I'll take a photo and show you later. –JW_

_I can barely wait. –SH_

_There, there. I'll see you in less than an hour. –JW_

_I look forward to it. –SH_

_Believe me, so do I. –JW xx_


	4. The Sweeney Todd Cinematic Experience

**A/N: **Quick note from me (obviously) – this chapter has spoilers for Sweeney Todd in it, so if you haven't seen it, too bad. You might end up confused. I recommend you fix that confusion by watching it in any way you can. Hire it, borrow it, watch it online. Doesn't really matter. But Sweeney Todd is a very good movie (and has Johnny Depp in it – bonus!). It might be considered a bit gory (according to my sister it's "too realistic") but who cares? It's Tim Burton, he gets Johnny Depp to sing and kill his wife (as usual – poor Helena) and it's a MUSICAL. So, what I'm trying to say is: Watch Sweeney Todd. Or at least look up the mentioned songs. (Also very good. I have the soundtrack and know every single word of all the songs.) Right. Enough of my ranting (but seriously – do watch it) and here is chapter four!

**Disclaimer: **Whoops. Not sure if this is even necessary, but seeing as I'm mentioning it, I don't own Sweeney Todd either, or anything affiliated with it (like characters, songs etc).

* * *

I ran into John – literally – outside our dorm room. He unlocked the door while I stood patiently beside. There was a strange glitter in his eyes that I couldn't place. Excitement maybe? That was as close as I could get because it clearly wasn't arousal.

'Do you want to start the movie now?' John asked. 'We could wait a bit, but I don't see the point.'

'Mm. Now, I suppose.' I replied as I went into my room. 'Oh,' I put my head around my door. 'I'm here by the way. You don't need to come searching for me while I change.'

John rolled his eyes. 'Shut up.' He dumped his open laptop on a chair and went back into his room.

A few minutes later, John's laptop had warmed up and was sitting on top of a make-shift table, in other words, John's laptop was sitting on a stack of books and his closed suitcase. He had positioned the "table" opposite the armchairs which he had pushed together against one wall.

Upon my entering the room, John looked up and smiled. 'Welcome to the _Sweeney Todd _cinema experience.'

I raised my eyebrow at his fondly named "cinema experience" and flopped into the unoccupied chair. 'You know you could have used a desk chair, right?'

John frowned. 'This was put together with _love_. If you can't accept that, feel free to watch the movie by yourself another time. Okay?'

'Fine, fine. Whatever.' I threw my legs over the side of my chair that wasn't touching John's. 'I've already seen the movie.'

'So have I.'

'Then why are we watching it?'

'To... _refresh _our memories.' John replied thoughtfully.

'Aha.'

John got out of his chair to start the movie, and as he sat back down, subtly locked the door.

'You locked the door.'

'You don't miss anything, do you?'

'I merely observe.' I stated. 'Why?'

'I don't want the movie to be interrupted.'

John said he had already seen the movie, so I was slightly confused by his remark. This was just to "refresh" our memories, so surely it wouldn't matter if we were interrupted or not. Besides, who were we likely to be interrupted _by_? Was John expecting someone to come and open the door while we – technically – did homework? Maybe he thought one of his friends would come by, and obviously, John couldn't seen to be _socialising _with me. He might get the shit kicked out of him just for being seen with me. And in my own dorm room? That didn't make sense. Not to me at least.

* * *

We weren't too far through the movie – just past the first rendition of Anthony's song to Johanna and so far, John had sung along with every song. Including _Green Finch and Linnet Bird _as sung by Johanna. It was beginning to annoy me. Then again, I couldn't speak much – John had looked rather surprised when I hummed and sung along with bits of other songs, like _My Friends _and soon, _Epiphany_. Nevertheless, neither of us commented on the other's sudden outbursts.

The room was completely dark, apart from the light off John's laptop screen and it took me a while to realise that over the period we had been watching the movie, John had slowly repositioned himself closer to my chair. One arm was completely over the barrier created by the armrests, close to my head and his legs and fallen off the side of his own chair.

I felt something touch my hair, and I pulled away from it as a kneejerk reaction.

'Sorry,' John murmured, then so quietly I almost missed it over the noise of the movie – Pirelli singing about being barber to the Pope – he said: 'I love your hair.'

His hand touched my hair again, lighter this time and his fingers ran through my curls. He sighed and left his hand in my hair.

After a few minutes, I tilted my head towards him and saw his face surprisingly close to me. 'Do you mind?' I asked, undeterred by the sudden intrusion of my personal space.

'Sorry.' John replied, but didn't move his hand.

Judge Turpin and Sweeney Todd began singing about women, and John and I fell into a duet – John as Turpin and myself as Todd. The song finished and John chuckled. 'Pretty women.'

'Hmm?'

'I find it slightly ironic.'

'How?'

'They're singing about pretty women and I'm sitting here with you.' I could feel John's breath against my face as he spoke.

'I don't under-' My words were cut off by John as he lightly spaced his lips on mine. I sat up and stared at him as best I could in the limited light. 'What the fuck, John?'

His eyes flickered down to his – now empty – hands and back up. 'I... Sorry.'

I searched John's face for any sign that he had just been trying to piss me off, but found nothing. I sat back in my original position and the movie got up to Mrs Lovett singing about pies when I felt John's hand back in my hair. I sighed, but said nothing and did nothing.

His hand moved from my hair and I felt his fingertips trail down my face, under my jaw and over my collarbone before it came to a rest on my shoulder. It stayed there until the reprise of _Johanna _was well under way and then slowly moved back up to my jaw where John tilted my head backwards to receive another experimental kiss.

Again, I sat up and looked at him.

'Sorry.' John said again. 'I don't-'

I silenced him by pulling his head towards me and kissing him feverishly. One of John's hands went back to my hair, and his fingers entwined themselves in my curls, while his other hand grasped the back of my neck. John broke away, but I just continued, leaving a trail of kisses across his jaw and down his neck until he pulled me back up. I was vaguely aware of Mrs Lovett singing about _"having chums over every Friday, by the sea..." _in the background. I could feel John smiling against my lips.

He sighed as I finally came up for air, and licked his lips. 'You're better than I thought you'd be.' He murmured.

'I'm slightly offended at that.'

'Well... You've never had a boyfriend...' John said, attempting to reason.

'Not that you know of, at least.' I mused.

'Yeah, not that I know of.' John agreed. 'Wait what?'

'There are entire periods of time when we don't see each other. Believe it or not, I do know people outside school.'

'Really?'

'Yes, and you shouldn't sound so shocked.'

'Huh...' John sat back and patted his hair down as the finale started.

"_Nothin's gonna harm you... Not while I'm around..."_

'So now what?' I asked as the movie finished.

'Hmm?'

'About... us. What happens?'

John looked thoughtful. 'I don't know. This is kinda new to me, so I need time to sort myself out.'

I nodded. 'Okay.'

* * *

Back in my room, I sent a text off to Mycroft.

_Well, the cat is out of the bag. Or rather, the John is out of the closet. –SH_

_He told you, did he? –MH_

_Not exactly... –SH_

_What is that supposed to mean? –MH_

_We kind of might have started making out a bit during Sweeney Todd. Not that it's any of your business. –SH_

_Is that code for something? –MH_

_No? We were watching Sweeney Todd for an English assignment and stuff... happened. –SH_

_By "stuff", you don't mean you tied him up in order to get your kicks, do you? –MH_

_Um. No. Where did that come from? He started it. So if his parents come to you saying I corrupted him, it was John's fault. Not mine. –SH_

_I told you it was those shirts. I'm ordering you new clothes. Ones that actually FIT. –MH_

_My clothes DO fit. –SH_

_Sherlock, you're not a ten-year old anymore. You can't get away with wearing shirts designed for one. –MH_

_Oh brother dear, you do vex me sometimes. –SH_

_It's my obligation as an older sibling. Though I am serious. I'm ordering you new clothes. –MH_

_By "I'm ordering you new clothes", you mean "My secretary is going to pick out some truly horrible apparel and I'm going to send it to you to wear". Yes? –SH_

_Naturally. –MH_

_Brilliant. Thanks. I look forward to it. Gaining weight? –SH_

_Losing it. Go away. I'm at work. –MH_

_Fine. I WILL burn any clothes you send me. –SH_

_Then you will reimburse me for them. –MH_

* * *

**A/N: **If you do want to listen to any songs from the _Sweeney Todd _soundtrack, the ones I have mentioned here are: 'Johanna', 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird', 'My Friends', 'Epiphany', 'The Contest', 'Pretty Women', 'A Little Priest', 'Johanna (reprise)', 'By the Sea' and 'Not While I'm Around'. Also worth listening to is 'Pirelli's Miracle Elixir', but listen to it too many times on repeat and it WILL get stuck in your head, and you WILL sing it. Intentionally or not – it _will _happen. Sorry. But as I have said numerous times, the movie is definitely worth watching c: Anyway, there's chapter four, so let me know what you think (if you want – you've been very active with reviews already). Thank you everyone for your support and such! *internet hugs*

Other than that, I'm adding this wee bit as a sort of afterthought. Sorry about all the Sweeney Todd... stuff. I finished this chapter just before 2am, and now that I'm uploading it, I really can't be bothered going through and seeing what I wrote. Yay for sleep deprivation!


	5. So Close Yet So Far

**A/N: **Just a short one. Sorry this took so long. I haven't had much time to write. (I also got season 2 of Supernatural so I've been watching that too.) I'll be updating quicker now - hopefully - and I'm going on study leave in a couple of weeks, so more writing time! Anyhoo, here it is c:

* * *

_You're still awake, aren't you? –JW_

_Yes, why? –SH_

_Can't sleep. Can I come over? –JW_

_My new bed hasn't arrived yet. –SH_

_I don't care. –JW_

_Fine, come over if you have to. –SH_

_Be over in a minute. –JW xx_

I sighed and moved to one side of my bed in preparation for John. A few seconds later, I heard my door open and faintly saw the vague outline of John. He walked cautiously towards my bed as though trying to avoid standing on anything.

'Move over.' He said quietly.

'I have.'

There was a blast of cold air as John pulled back the covers, and the bed sunk slightly under his weight as he climbed in. 'Christ, bit chilly out.' He mumbled. 'Where are you?'

'Literally right in front of you.' I breathed. Going by the clarity of John's voice, I estimated our faces to be about seven centimetres apart.

John's hand touched my bare knee and jerked away. 'You are wearing pyjamas right?'

'Yes,' I chuckled. 'You caught me on a clothed night.'

'Oh.' His hand ran up and rested on my hip. 'Are you saying you usually sleep commando?'

'I was joking.'

'Oh.' He said again, sounding slightly disappointed this time.

'Usually I just sleep in boxers. That means there's a chance that if you come back in the middle of the night, sometime during this week, I won't be wearing a shirt.'

'I look forward to it.' John replied, nuzzling his head against my shoulder.

'John?'

'Mm?'

'Are you going to be here the entire night?'

'Dunno. Maybe. Why?'

'Well, this morning I had you down as probably straight, then the _Sweeney Todd _thing happened, and now you're going to – for lack of a better term – sleep with me.'

'Do you want me to leave?'

'No, it's just... This has kinda come on really fast. I don't know what's going to happen between us or even if anything _is _going to happen.'

'Fair enough.' He paused for a few minutes. 'Do you want something to happen?'

'What do you mean?'

'I'm game if you are.'

'Is it because of the limited options you have and can't wait for some action? Or pure interest in me?'

'Limited choice.' John laughed quietly. 'No, I actually like you.'

'There's a first.'

'Can we sleep now? I'm actually very tired.'

'Yeah, yeah. Night.'

'Night.' John murmured.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to find John gone. I decided to get dressed and go down for some sort of breakfast. I wasn't actually hungry, but it would probably be better than waiting around in my room for something to happen.

_Morning. How are you? –JW xx_

_Good. You? –SH_

_Best sleep I've had in a while :) Where are you? –JW_

_About to go down for breakfast. Not hungry though. –SH_

_Stay in your room. I'm coming up. –JW_

_Are you bringing me coffee? –SH_

_If you want. How do you have it? –JW_

_Black, two sugars. Thanks. –SH_

_No problem. I'll be there in a few. –JW xx_

I sighed and sat back down. Maybe I _wasn't _going downstairs. While I waited for John, I started a conversation with Mycroft.

_I think I might have done something bad. –SH_

_Oh? If you think it's bad, it might be a catastrophe for the rest of us. What did you do? –MH_

_I think that John and I may be official. –SH_

_Might we be expecting a happy announcement by the end of the week? –MH_

_The way things are going... Bad things happen when people get involved with me. –SH_

_How do you know that? No one ever has been involved with you. –MH_

_That might be true, but I also don't want to use John as a guinea pig. –SH_

_So what are you going to do? Break up with him? –MH_

_No. I couldn't. –SH_

_So then what? –MH_

_I'm going to get him to break up with me. –SH_

_Oh, Sherlock. Isn't it easier to just explain the situation to him? –MH_

_You know how teenagers are. Tell one person something and it's around the rest of the school within the hour. –SH_

_And you think John would do that? –MH_

_I don't know, maybe? –SH_

_Perhaps you should risk it. –MH_

_Perhaps. For now I might just bask in the moment. –SH_

_Let me know how that goes. –MH_

* * *

'Coffee?' John's arm appeared through the door. 'Black, two sugars.' The rest of his body followed his arm in.

'Mm, thank you.' I smiled appreciatively, reaching up for the cup.

John sat down on the chair opposite me. 'Last night...' He began, staring at the lid of his cup. 'Did I sort of ask you out?'

I nodded slowly. 'I believe your exact words were "I'm game if you are.". Why?'

John sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'I...Hmm. Well.'

'Let me guess. Reconsidering that?'

'You're not angry are you?' John cringed.

'Not really.' I sipped my coffee.

'Okay.' He got up. 'I'll just...' he pointed at the door and backed away slowly.

As he left the room, I pulled my phone out.

_Moment over. John broke it off already. –SH_

_Well. Even I wasn't expecting it that fast. –MH_

_Mm. I think six and a half hours is a new record. –SH_

_Quite possibly. Shall I look into it? –MH_

_Oh yes, very funny. –SH_

_I'm sure you'll be fine. –MH_

_I always am. -SH_


	6. Excuses

**A/N: **Hello everyone c: So, I've updated. I'm just going to mention this now: I probably won't be updating much through November because I have my end of year exams which I _need _to study for, and as well as that, I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so I'll be attempting to write a 50,000 word novel in four weeks. Writing a novel and studying isn't going to leave me _a lot _of time to write this, but I will try. This will probably fill in the spots where I don't want to study or write my novel, so there should be some updating. If you want to follow my (probably rather slow) progress throughout NaNoWriMo, you can join me on Tumblr (more self promotion – sorry guys) either on my normal blog – thesherlockedwriterof221b – or my new writing blog – thewriterofperfectdisasters. That also happens to be my NaNoWriMo username, so if you're participating too, find me and be my friend! Anyhoo, enough of that. Here's chapter 6 c:

* * *

'Hey, Sherlock.' John greeted me as he walked into the dorm room at the end of school classes. 'How was your day?'

I looked up and narrowed my eyes. 'Fine. What do you want?'

'I... Nothing. What's wrong?'

'Why do you think something is wrong?'

'You're being... cold.'

'I was under the impression that's what people did after a breakup.' I replied disinterestedly, turning back to my laptop.

'So that's what this is about? My breaking up with you after six hours?'

'Yes.' _No. _'That's what this is about.' _Let's talk about how I feel strangely used, shall we?_

'Well, too bad. I don't want a relationship.' John stalked off into his room and shut the door loudly.

How petty of him. True, it was only about six hours, but before then, we had had a bit of an... accident I suppose it was. John had used me to get his kicks, and now I was being kicked away. I might have wanted the relationship – if it could even be _called _that – over, and I might have wanted John to cut it off, but I wasn't expecting it so soon. I had told Mycroft I would be fine, and I would, but I couldn't help feeling like I wanted more. More of what John was apparently unwilling to give.

* * *

'John, are you there?' The sickly sweet voice was accompanied by persistent knocking. 'John, baby, can we talk?'

I hauled open the door. 'John's not here right now. Do you want me to take a message?'

'Oh, yeah. Please.'

'Too bad. Anything else?'

'Where is John?' The girl asked, seemingly oblivious to my rudeness.

'Football practice. It's finished at six though, so he should be back soon.' I replied, flicking my eyes to the clock on the wall in the hall.

'Hmm. I have homework. Tell him I stopped by.' She turned on her heel and pranced off down the hallway.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door. 'Stupid girls.'

A little while later – it might only have been a few minutes but I wasn't counting – John walked through the door. He ignored me as he went straight past my chair and into his own room. Apparently we had moved into the phase of completely ignoring each other. I doubted this would make it easy to live with him if it continued this way.

'Someone came to see you.' I called to him.

'Hmm? Who?' John's head popped out of his room.

'No idea. Some girl.'

'What did she look like?'

I paused thoughtfully. 'Brownish hair, brown eyes, tanned.'

'And what did she want?'

'She didn't say. Just to tell you she came over.'

'Huh. Okay. Thanks.' John pulled his head back inside his room and shut the door.

* * *

_Awake? –JW_

_Of course. What do you want? –SH_

_Can we talk? –JW_

_It's nearly 2am. –SH_

_We're both still up. What's the problem? –JW_

_No problem. What do you want? –SH_

_I'm coming over. –JW_

_Must you? –SH_

_Yes. Get over it. –JW_

'You know, we still have an English assignment to work on together. You might as well be civil, and it will make things easier for everyone.' John murmured, opening my door.

'What do you want?'

'I want to apologise.'

'Oh? For what?' I asked.

'Not sure. Breaking up after six hours? I guess it wasn't really fair to do that.'

'Not really.'

'Well you seem pretty cut up over it, so I thought I would say sorry.'

I sighed. 'I don't even know why it annoyed me.'

John was silent for a few minutes. 'It's quite cold out here.'

I rolled my eyes and pulled the covers back. 'May I offer you some space in my bed?'

'You know, we aren't together.' John said, climbing in.

'We weren't yesterday either yet it happened then too, didn't it?'

John chuckled. 'Yeah.' He turned towards me. 'I really am sorry you know.'

'Hmm?'

'Maybe I acted a little rashly.' John's hand was on my arm and travelling steadily down.

'What do you mean?'

'Do you want to give it another shot? Us, I mean?'

I groaned. 'You're not serious are you?'

'No, I am.'

'In that case, I'd really rather not.' I exhaled sharply and pulled the covers off John. 'And if that's all you wanted to talk about, I would like you to leave now.'

John removed his hand instantly. 'What? Why?'

'Because I don't want to get into a relationship with you. You obviously don't know what you want, and I don't want to get into something without everyone being clear of their position.'

'I _do _know what I want. I _am _clear of my position. I want you and I want to be with you. That's it.'

'No, you don't. You have no idea. Otherwise the six-hour relationship – which was essentially only made up of sleeping – wouldn't have happened. Now, I would like you out of my bed and out of my room. Goodnight, John.'

The mattress sprung up as John stood in stunned silence. 'Well if that's how you feel, I won't ask again.' He started for the door before stopping and saying quietly: 'I really did want you, you know.'

* * *

_How's the situation? –MH_

_Messy. Horrible. Normal teenagers have such petty lives. –SH_

_Mm. I take it there was no reconciliation then? –MH_

_Definitely not. John was only "dating" me because he has limited options. And I'm his roommate, so there's easy access to my bed. –SH_

_That escalated quickly. You didn't "corrupt" him did you? –MH_

_Is that what you think of me? Of course not. –SH_

_Just checking. You should give him another chance. –MH_

_Hah. No. –SH_

_Why not? –MH_

_Mycroft, stay out of my personal life, please. –SH_

_Fine, fine. Suit yourself. –MH_

* * *

'Sherlock,' John whined. 'Let me in.'

'No.' I growled. 'Piss off.'

'Why?' John's voice went slightly high pitched.

'John, just _piss off!_' I picked up a shoe and threw it against my door. With any luck, that should get him away from my room and leave me in peace.

It had been nearly two weeks since I kicked him out of my bed, and we hadn't spoken since. Well, I hadn't. John had been... pining after me. The texting had gotten so bad I blocked his number. He must have figured out that I wasn't getting his texts anymore, because now he had taken to this latest strategy of annoying me.

'Sherlock, we need to work on our English assignment.' John's voice was timid now, rather than whiny, and he knew it would get me to answer.

I sighed and got up to unlock my door. 'What is your plan for today then?'

'Well I read _Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde _so I thought we should work on that for a bit. Is that okay?'

'If we have to.'

'Yes, we have to.' John smiled faintly. 'Besides, I miss you.'

'You miss me. Interesting. Why?'

'Because I like you. A lot. I miss you. Is that okay?'

I rolled my eyes. 'Whatever. You said we were going to do work. Where and when?'

'Now, out there?' he pointed over his shoulder into the living space.

'I'll get my stuff.'

After we were both sitting on the floor, stationery spread out around us, John started smiling sheepishly. 'I lied.'

'What?' I asked.

'I haven't finished it.'

I shook my head and stood up. 'Thanks for nothing.'

'I just wanted to spend time with you. I-'

'Miss me. I know. You've mentioned.'

'Is it so bad that I want something between us now?' John's voice was simpering.

'I'd appreciate if you stopped trying to get us together, John. I don't want that anymore.'

John huffed. 'You're so difficult.'

I laughed. 'Not the first time I've heard that.'

'I imagine not. Will you at least consider the possibility of us?' John smiled, thinking he'd cracked me.

'Nope.' I stooped to pick my books up and went back into my room, locking the door behind me.


	7. Plans

**A/N: **Well, where I am (as I write this), it's currently 11.38pm on the 25th of November. (Yes, I do write my notes before a chapter. I don't know why.) My mental state has been severely degrading over the past few weeks. On my Tumblr, I have stopped the frequent use of good grammar and turned into what I would classify as... well. A mess really. Seeing as I still have two exams left (History at 9.30am tomorrow and Classical Studies on Wednesday, same time – neither of which I have studied for) and have only gotten up to 22,429 words as it currently stands for my NaNoWriMo project, I have decided that's not really going to happen. I have written (hahaha – written – it's too late for this) off getting 50k by Friday so I am turning my attention back to this. Yay! Now, I apologise in advance if there are any inconsistencies in this, or if things don't make sense, because honestly I am really tired and just want to sleep, but I love you all too much. So, instead of sleeping and getting rest for my exam tomorrow, I have decided to start this new chapter. So, here are a few words of advice from me. 1: Study if you have exams. It generally helps. 2: Sleep. A lot. 3: Teach your parents about scammers calling and asking for credit card details, because it will spare you staying up until nearly 1.30am helping your sister and her boyfriend to install new software on your Mum's computer because some random had remote access to it. 4: Do _not _sprain your arms trying to beat your sister's score in intermediate archery on your neighbour's Wii as you babysit. It makes it incredibly difficult and painful to type. 5: I have completely lost my train of thought, so I think this chapter is going to be a complete mess. Enjoy this chapter, because it's going to have been written by a sleep deprived teenager. (But if you think this is a mess, I invite you all to see my NaNoWriMo project. Phwoar.)

* * *

'Okay, I really have finished _Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde _now. I promise.' John was standing outside my door again. Cue some weird scratching noises.

'John, are you scratching my door?'

It stopped. 'No.'

'Well, I don't care if you've finished. Go read one of the other books.' I growled.

'I don't want to. What are you doing in there?' As muffled as John's voice was, I could hear a tone of interest.

'None of your business.' I replied.

'No, really. You just sit in your room for days.'

'Really?' I rolled my eyes. 'John, I read.'

'Read?' He said it like it was a dirty word.

'Yeah. You pick up a book and stare at tiny words printed on the pages until they make sense and give an impression in your mind.'

'I know what reading is. Let me in.'

'Why?'

'I miss you.'

'John, we are not going there again.' It had been only a few days after the whole "I miss you" thing had gone down.

'Sheeeeerloooooock.'

'FINE. Open the damn door then!' I spun around angrily in my desk chair to face the now open door. 'What?'

John smiled, and it sent a little twinge to me heart, I'll admit. He walked over and put his arms around my neck. 'Hi.'

I pushed him off. 'John, if you're here to annoy me, you can piss off.'

He pulled back and pouted slightly. 'Sorry.'

'No, you aren't.'

'No, you're right. I'm not.'

I rolled my eyes again. 'Seriously, what do you want?'

John sat on my bed. 'New bed.' He commented.

My new double bed had arrived. 'And?'

'Nothing. Um...' he shuffled slightly. 'I just... You wouldn't consider... Rethinking your decision would you.'

'No.'

He nodded. 'I thought as much.'

'Yet you asked anyway.'

'Gotta have hope in something, right?'

'In a lost cause?'

'You're not a lost cause.' John said fiercely.

'Nice to know. Are you done now?'

'No.'

'Too bad. Let me tell you something.' I said, wheeling my chair over to in front of John. 'We are not going to revisit the 6-hour relationship fiasco. I am not here for your amusement. You cannot use me to get kicks. Go find a girl with loose morals to play around with. Just as easy, and they don't care if you're gay, because they're using you right back. Leave me out of your lovelife. Leave _me _alone.' I pushed away from him and returned to my desk. 'Now, feel free to leave.'

* * *

_I heard you had a bit of a lovers' tiff with Mr Watson? –MH_

_Lovers' tiff? Definitely not. 6 hours does not qualify either as a relationship or make us "lovers". –SH_

_Well, what's going on? –MH_

_He's pining. After me. –SH_

_Is he ill? –MH_

_I'm starting to wonder. –SH_

_Pining, you say... –MH_

_Kindly have a word to his parents. Or a psychiatric hospital. –SH_

_Let me think about that. No. Sort it out yourself. –MH_

_I've tried! –SH_

_Would you like me to send in backup? –MH_

_Do you mean... –SH_

_You know who I mean. Shall I make the arrangements? –MH_

_Do you think it will get him away? –SH_

_There's a high chance, yes. –MH_

_Then do it. I'm willing to try anything. –SH_

_I'm sure our friend will be delighted to hear that. –MH_

_Without a doubt. –SH_

_I'll organise that now. Backup will arrive as soon as is able. –MH_

_Much obliged. –SH_

* * *

**A/N: **Hey look I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. It's now 12.13am, and I have an exam in 9 hours, 17 minutes and my alarm goes off in 7 hours, 2 minutes. I'm going to upload this later when I get back from my exam, and I probably won't delete these notes, so you know what was going on in my head. I am so sorry if this didn't make sense (it probably didn't). Hopefully you'll just be glad I updated, and ignore my complete insanity. Anyhoo, now I'm introducing a character I have never actually written (HAHAHA) so we'll all be surprised how it turns out together. Should be fun methinks. Also, if you're looking for a new song to listen to, go to YouTube and search up Angeles by Steve Carlson feat. Jensen Ackles. (If you don't know who Jensen Ackles is, go to my Tumblr. It's slowly becoming a Jensen Ackles appreciation blog. But srsly. Damn that man can sing.) SO HERE IS THE PRODUCT OF MY NIGHT'S INSANITY AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION. I hope you enjoyed it! (Leave a review telling me if it made any sense because I doubt I'll go through and edit before uploading.)

THANK YOU MY LOVELIES FOR WAITING SO PATIENTLY FOR AN UPDATE. I SEND YOU ALL MENTAL/TELELPATHIC HUGS AND IMAGINARY COOKIES c: (Unless you don't like cookies, then you can have idk chocolate or something.)


	8. Introducing

**A/N: **I know, my last notes were hugely long and probably very confusing. My apologies. Not like my writing now is going to be any better. It's now 12.20am where I am (as I write this). Ridiculous. Anyhoo, I really hope the last chapter made sense. But now (ooh I am excited to write this!) I get to introduce a completely new character to me. So, apologies (again) if anything is OOC. Which it will be. Most of it. Anyhoo. Here we are c:

Before that though, I would just like to say thank you to the wonderful sherlockjumpedinthetardis for sending me messages through Tumblr and encouraging me to write more c: (I hope you got your report done!) This one is for you, my dear, because I didn't post it so you could do your homework stuff. I hope it was worth the wait :L

* * *

_Our friend is making their way to you as I send this. –MH_

_Brilliant. –SH_

_All arrangement have been made. No sharing your bed. –MH_

_Even better. –SH_

_I'll leave you to sort things out. Let me know how it goes. –MH_

_I don't doubt you'll be hearing from me. –SH_

This was going to be fun. I had a secret weapon at my disposal that hardly anyone knew about. I didn't know quite how it was going to pan out, but I knew that it would be a complete fiasco and probably be very upsetting for John. Good. If it kept him away from me, that was fine.

I didn't even really know where all this animosity had come from. I did kind of like John. Overlooking the fact that he kind of used me... there wasn't anything wrong with him.

It didn't matter. My secret weapon would be here in a few hours, and I needed to prepare for that.

* * *

It was around 7pm when there was a light knock on the door. John got up to open it. 'Uh... Hi.' He said. It was the tone he had when he was grinning like an idiot.

'Sherlock, get control over your roommate.' The person at the door pushed through past John and came over to me, leaving a slightly bewildered Molly standing in the doorway.

'Sherlock, John, I'm sorry. She demanded to come over immediately.' Molly seemed somewhat at a loss for words.

'No, no. It's perfectly fine, Molly.' I smiled, rising from my chair. 'I've been expecting her. How was your flight, Irene?'

'You know. Flighty.' She grinned and gave me a light hug. 'Mycroft sends his regards.'

'No doubt. He told me you were in France with your parents?'

'Mm, they went off to Italy. Thank God Mycroft sent for me. Otherwise I'd be stuck at some snobby Italian Girls' school.'

I chuckled. 'You haven't changed a bit.'

'Neither have you. Still wearing the same shirts? I was warned of that.' She eyed my shirt and made a little noise of contempt.

'Sorry, I'm really confused.' John butted in. 'Who is she?'

'John Watson, this is Miss Irene Adler. Irene, this is John, my roommate.' I waved my hand between them. 'Irene's parents are good friends of my parents. We've known each other for quite a few years now. Irene and I also dated for a few months.' I watched her from the corner of my eye. She seemed to accept that.

'Mm. We decided against that because of long distance, we should break up.' Irene said casually. She was brilliant at this.

John looked suspicious. 'But... Aren't you gay, Sherlock?'

I shrugged as Irene answered that. 'He told me he was bi.'

'Huh...' John sat down. 'I suppose that makes sense.'

Irene nodded. 'And now I'm here again. Perhaps things will start up again. You never know.' She smiled. 'We should go, Molly. I need to unpack and shower. I hate flying.'

'Okay. See you later, guys.' Molly said, going out to wait in the hall.

Irene reached up to give me another hug and as she did, whispered into my ear: 'I've emailed you the plan. Mycroft told me everything.'

'Thank you.'

'Happy to help.' She murmured. 'See you later!' Irene grinned, leaving the room.

As she shut the door, John looked at me suspiciously again. '_You _dated _that_?'

'What is that supposed to mean?' I asked.

'You just seem like polar opposites.'

'Opposites attract.'

'Apparently.'

'If you'll excuse me, I have things to do.' I said, ducking into my room and shutting the door. I opened my laptop and went through my emails.

_From: Irene Adler_

_To: Sherlock Holmes_

_Subject: The Grand Plan_

_So, my dear Sherlock._

_It appears you have enlisted my services to help keep a pining potential ex away, or so your brother tells me. Here's what we're going to do._

_After initially telling John we were together for a few months, our "love" will "rekindle" and we shall happily fake our way through a relationship for a few weeks or months. After a bad "break up", John will probably come to you, offering a literal shoulder to cry on. Do this if you must, but not essential. He will probably try to revisit your 6-hour relationship, and you can tell him you're too cut up about our "break up" to go into anything. Hopefully, if John has any morals, he will respect this, and leave you alone. If that doesn't work, I'm sure you can get Mycroft to arrange something._

_I hope for your sake this works. Pining exes are quite annoying. Worse if they're girls though. Much, much worse. _

_Irene_

* * *

Now that Irene was here, and John was aware that whatever had "happened" between us could possibly start up again, he was giving me a mix of the cold shoulder and being even friendlier. Whenever I was just with Irene and him, he seemed to be clingy, whenever Molly was around, I was completely ignored, and when we were alone working on the English project, John was overbearingly friendly.

'So,' John said one day as we worked in the living area. 'How are things between you and Irene?'

'Fine, thank you. Why do you ask?' I replied nonchalantly.

'Just uh, wondering. If you were going to get back with her.' He said casually.

'I don't know, John.'

'Because if you do, I'm okay with that, you know.'

'Good to know I have your support.' I said, continuing to write.

'If you ever want to have her over, I would leave the room.'

'Why would you leave?' I asked, watching him from the corner of my eye.

'Well, you know. Give you some privacy.' He said slowly.

'For what?'

I _think_ that was when John reached breaking point. 'In case you ever decide to have sex with _her_ and not _me_!' he threw down his pen and stormed into his bedroom.

I stopped writing and put my pen down in a much calmer manner than John had. John was jealous? Of Irene? Huh.

I stood and knocked on John's door. 'John, are you okay?'

'No.' His voice was muffled – but that could have just been because the door was shut.

'What's wrong?'

'Are you really asking me what's wrong? Were you not listening to me just before?'

'Can I come in?' I turned the door handle, not waiting for a reply.

John was curled up on his bed in the foetal position, facing the wall and hugging a pillow. 'Go away.'

'No.' I sat on the end of his bed. 'Why do you think I'm going to have sex with Irene?'

'Because you're attractive – very attractive, actually – and so is she. If you're getting back together, things are bound to happen.' He explained in a small voice.

'I have no wish to have sex with Irene. Or to have sex for that matter.' I stated matter-of-factly.

John turned away from the wall slightly. 'Really?'

'Mm. I didn't find it particularly enjoyable the first time, I doubt I will a second time.'

John turned fully to look at me. 'What.'

'What?'

'You've...'

'I was bored.' I waved my hand dismissively.

'Bored.' He repeated blankly.

'Yes. Leave my business alone.'

'Sorry...' he turned away again. 'I just don't want you to be with Irene.'

'Why not? My business.'

'I know. I just... I want you to be with me. Not her.' John said sadly.

'Well, you never know what could happen.'

'Is there a possibility we might...' he asked.

'I don't know, John. No. Probably not.' I got off the bed. 'I'm done discussing this with you. Pull yourself together. We have an assignment to do.'

'I know. I'm sorry.'

'Just keep your thoughts to yourself, okay?

'I'll try.' He muttered, following me out the room.

* * *

Unfortunately for me, John didn't keep his thoughts to himself. Instead of saying them, I received texts.

_You know, I'm better suited to you than Irene is. –JW_

_Why might that be? –SH_

_I know you better. –JW_

_What a pathetic excuse. –SH_

And then there was, of course, the reporting John did on her movements...

_She's talking to some guy. He's not too bad. –JW_

_I don't care. She's allowed to talk to people. –SH_

_She's flirting. –JW_

_John, that's what she does. –SH_

_Oh wow. Physical flirting. –JW_

_I beg your pardon. –SH_

_She touched his hand. –JW_

_John, I don't think you understand how little I actually care. –SH_

But if it wasn't John, it was Mycroft texting me.

_How are things? –MH_

_I'm not sure. Irene has succeeded in making John clingy. We're putting the plan into action next week. Hopefully he'll leave me alone then. –SH_

_Why do you even want him to leave you alone? –MH_

_People close to me get hurt. –SH_

_Anything else? –MH_

_Hmm... Not that I can think of. –SH_

_So this is pretty much pointless. –MH_

_No, I don't want to be close to John. He deserves more than me. –SH_

_Sherlock, I think he can decide what he wants. –MH_

_Not when I'm involved. –SH_

_Charming. Kindly ask Miss Adler when she thinks her role will be finished. Her parents want her to be in Russia in two months. –MH_

_Will do. I think we'll be done by then. Perhaps we can work it in. –SH_

_Perhaps. Keep me informed. –MH_

_As always. –SH_

* * *

**A/N: **So I hope I didn't screw up Irene in this for you all. It's probably waaaaaaay OOC, but eh. There should be another chapter up in a couple of days because I won't be writing tomorrow during the day – final exam, and I will be watching the coverage of The Hobbit's world premiere in Wellington (I LOVE LIVING IN NEW ZEALAND!) so that will take up a significant portion of my day, so I'll start tomorrow night. Yippee! (sherlockjumpedinthetardis, I hope this _was _worth the wait c: )


	9. A Small Problem

**A/N: **Hey look a new chapter! Sorry this took so long. I honestly have no idea what happened. I'll try to be better with my updating, but I can't promise anything. Though, my slow updating is beginning to annoy me... Oh well. Small note: The first part of this chapter was written waaaaay before the later parts (I mean, like nearly 2 weeks before) so I have no idea if anything is going to make sense or what. I'm also writing this at nearly 1.30am, so let's see how it turns out!

* * *

_I think it may be time to put the plan into action. –SH_

_What, a week early? –IA_

_Mm. John just had a bit of a fit. –SH_

_Care to expand on that? –IA_

_He just had a breakdown because he thinks I want to have sex with you over him. –SH_

_Where did he get that from? –IA_

_No idea. I don't want him to get anymore attached. –SH_

_What do you mean? –IA_

_I have no idea. –SH_

_Liar. –IA_

_I mean... I don't think we should use the plan at all. Your parents want you in Russia, and I can't bear to hurt John anymore. –SH_

_Is he breaking your barriers down? –IA_

_Apparently so. I just... You know what happens when people get close to me. –SH_

_That I do. I suppose if you now want to be with John, there's not much use for the plan. –IA_

_Not really. –SH_

_Okay then. I'll get in touch with Mycroft and sort things. –IA_

_Thank you. For understanding. And your help. –SH_

_You're welcome. I expect this won't be the last time? –IA_

_Potentially not. –SH_

* * *

Although things with Irene were now sorted, I still didn't want to allow John to get close to me. I thought he would only end up getting hurt, and though he apparently didn't care in the slightest, I did. I agonised over what to do for several days before making any sort of move towards him, even after Irene had left to join her parents. My decision was made for me, however, when I received a text from John at near on 2am on a Saturday morning.

_Awake? –JW_

_You should know by now that I am. –SH_

_I was wondering if you had changed your mind yet. –JW_

_You just don't give up, do you? –SH_

_I have to believe in something. –JW_

_In that case... Come over. –SH_

Instead of a reply, the door to my room opened almost instantly. 'I knew you would let me in.' He explained. 'You unblocked my number, huh?'

'I figured the whining was replacing texts.'

'I don't _whine_.' He muttered, climbing into the other side of my bed.

'I beg to differ.' I rolled over to face him. 'You wanted to know if I had changed my mind.'

'Have you?'

I sighed. 'I don't know.'

'That's helpful.'

'I just... I don't want you to end up getting hurt because of me. It's happened before, and I don't want it to happen again. Not to you.'

'Well, if I get hurt, then it's my fault, isn't it?'

'I don't want to feel guilty about it.'

'The way I see it is, do you want to be with me again? For longer than six hours this time?'

I nodded slowly. 'Part of me does.'

'Then what's the problem?'

'We've been over this.'

'Sherlock,' John sounded exasperated. 'If I get hurt, it's my fault, okay?'

'Fine.'

'Fine.'

I studied John's face in the half-light for several moments. 'So does this mean...'

He smiled. 'Does it?'

'Yes.'

'Okay then.' John moved closer to me in the bed. 'Mind if I stay here tonight? It's bloody freezing out.'

'It usually is. And no, I don't think I do mind.'

'Good.' John said, sounding drowsier than he had a few seconds ago. 'Because your bed is so much comfier than mine.'

'That's why I have it.'

'Mm, I figured.' John murmured. 'Goodnight.'

'Night.'

* * *

I woke up the next morning to see John's face on the pillow next to me. I smiled after remembering the events of last night. Oh yes. John and I were a "thing" now, I supposed. I got up and went off to get myself some coffee, trying not to disturb John as I did.

As I wandered off down the halls, phone in hand in case John woke and texted me – was I becoming a worried boyfriend already? – I did receive a text. Not from John though.

_You might have a minor problem coming your way. –MH_

_What? –SH_

_Your "ex". –MH_

_Mycroft, I just got up. What's going on? –SH_

_Your "ex" is back. He's moving to your school. –MH_

_What?! Does he know I'm here? About John? –SH_

_Ah, finally with John? –MH_

_Irrelevant. Tell me. –SH_

_I don't know either answer. –MH_

_Helpful. –SH_

_Just passing on what I know. –MH_

So. Crazy ex in town. In my school. This was destined to be fun.


	10. This is a reply, not an actual chapter

Hey guys. This isn't actually a chapter, just a reply to a review that I can't reply to (done in anonymous mode). If any of you follow me on Tumblr, then you might have already seen this. However, if you weren't the person who left the latest anonymous review, then you probably also don't need to read this, y'know, unless you want to. Some people might think this is me whining or complaining, but it's not. This is my reply to a review. This is exactly what I posted on Tumblr so yeah.

"I feel like I should address this.

I got a review last night/this morning (my time around 6.30am) which I feel like I should just address because in case the reviewer has Tumblr, I actually wanted to reply to them. By the way, I will also be putting this on before the next chapter, so if you both follow me and read _Bulletproof,_ then you're probably going to see this twice.

Pre-warning: I don't know, but some of you might be offended by this? I'm not being rude, I am being honest.

Here's what the review said:

_Considering the way you wrote John and Sherlock in A Flawed Design, and now this, I am somewhat concerned about how you view relationships and how people should act in them. I think you're attempting to write John as a romantic in his pursuit of Sherlock, but how he's acting is unhealthy. He's coming across as obsessive, stalkerish and creepy, and it's more than a little disconcerting._

And I just want to address that.

-First of all, that is not my opinion on how people should act in relationships. I am flattered you've read both of them, but they are not my opinion. Also, not that it's any of your business, but I have never been in relationship, so this is purely coming out of my head in a _fictional _circumstance. However, with that in mind, I have seen enough relationships of my friends either fail tragically, end happily or be ongoing to know my opinion of a relationship. Though I do not need to ever have been in one to have such an opinion. So, you do not need to be concerned because there will be nothing of this sort floating around in the real world coming from my apparently warped version of how a relationship should or should not appear.

-Secondly, that is exactly what I am doing with John. He _is_ pursuing Sherlock (well spotted) and how he's acting _is_ unhealthy. Well done you. I am aware of this seeing as I wrote it. The way you see him as being portrayed ("obsessive, stalkerish and creepy") is also correct because he is _pursuing _Sherlock in an unhealthy manner. It might be a little "disconcerting" for you, but keep in mind this is _fiction_. You might be "disconcerted" by my "warped" view of a relationship and pursuance, but hey - it's your choice to read _Bulletproof_. If you don't like the way it's turning out, then you don't have to read it. No one is forcing you to so don't feel obliged.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm honoured that you were concerned enough to write your thoughts down in a review, but the fact that you haven't picked up on the fact that I actually do know how I am writing their relationship, and John's pursuance is slightly annoying. I know exactly what is going on, y'know, being the writer and all.

Some people might say this is me reacting badly to a negative-ish review, but it's not. I'm not offended that you're "disconcerted" by some things, and you're definitely allowed to have your opinion, just don't assume I am naive enough to not understand what is going on. I am the writer, I understand. You are the reader. Do not tell me how to write my own story.

Much obliged and thank you for your time,

The _Writer_,

Dee."

So, partially anonymous reviewer under the name of "Haas", I hope that answered your concerns and that you feel somewhat better by my reply. I am not being snarky, rude or sarcastic at all, and I hope that it didn't come across as such (though it probably did) as that was not my intention. My apologies if you are now feeling offended or if anyone else is offended for you. I don't really know what else to add here, but eh.

If you read this, and you had (or have) similar concerns, then I hope this has cleared everything up for you also. If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask, and I would be happy to sort out everything for you also. I just decided to reply to this one in this manner, seeing as it appeared to perhaps be an issue other people may or may not have faced, and I wanted to clear it up.

So, if you read this, I suppose thank you? I don't know. Have a nice day, guys. Hopefully there will be another chapter up soon, and now that this issue is cleared up, I hope that you can just enjoy (or whatever) it.

Thanks guys c:


	11. Disaster

**A/N:** Hey guys! First of all, thank you to the people who supported what I said in the last (and completely irrelevant) "chapter". I really do quite appreciate it. Also, I had no idea that people actually discussed my writing with each other :L Welp. Also, if any of you do (or might want to – self promotion time!) follow me on Tumblr, my URL has changed to theyburntmyhouse-theyatemytailor c: I also thought I should mention that because people are still following my old URL (thesherlockedwriterof221b) which I no longer use. I also joined Archive of our Own (AO3 for you savvy people) under the name of thewriterofperfectdisasters where I have a Wing!Lock fic going c: Check it out if you want!

Secondly, omg, I'm so sorry I left this so long. I haven't abandoned you. I'm in my last year of high school, and I got a job in January, so I haven't had much time for writing. Therefore, I am putting this on semihiatus. I'll update when I can, but I'll always come back 3

Apologies for any inconsistencies. It's been several months since I last wrote anything for this :L

* * *

_I'm afraid I can confirm. –MH_

_Confirm what? –SH_

_A certain James is going to be in attendance at your school within a week. –MH_

_Fantastic. –SH_

_I'm sensing sarcasm there. –MH_

_Please, share how you may have come to that conclusion? –SH_

_Hah. Just thought you might want to know. –MH_

_Prepare myself for would be a better term, I think. –SH_

_Mm. Don't forget to mention to Mr. Watson as well. –MH_

_I won't. –SH_

In fact, I had no intention to tell John that my ex was going to be in attendance at our school. It would likely only raise questions from John – _how did you not find it important to mention? Since when did you actually have another boyfriend? _Well, John. It simply wasn't important.

* * *

The next few days past with the impending return constantly on my mind. A few times, John asked me what was happening, but I just shrugged and said "Nothing. Don't worry." Eventually, John stopped asking, but I still saw him give me a look that said "_You can't hide whatever-this-is from me." _

Fortunately for John, he didn't have to wait too long to find out what was on my mind. We were sitting in the living area – John emailing his family while I read hanging upside down off my chair – when there was a small, yet vaguely frantic knock on the door. I ignored it, but John (always one for "proper manners") got up to open the door.

'Hi Andrew. Why are you knocking on my door?' John asked suspiciously. Andrew was the unfortunate boy in the room next to us. He had bright orange hair, an acne problem and no roommate.

'Oh, John. Thank god.' He left out a sigh of relief and I chuckled quietly. 'I'm just introducing my new roommate.'

I heard a familiar laugh, and a familiar voice began to speak. 'Jim Moriarty. Hiii.'

'John Watson. Nice to meet you. I would introduce _my_ roommate, but he's currently hanging off a chair...' Suddenly my book disappeared from infront of me, and John's face was looming above me. 'Get up and introduce yourself.' He hissed.

I rolled my eyes and swung off the chair to walk towards the door. 'Jim.'

The familiar dark, dead eyes looked back at me. Jim's grin spread from ear to ear. 'Well, isn't _this _a surprise?'

'I don't know, is it?' I replied, shutting the door and walking back to my chair.

'Sherlock!' John cried. He rushed back to the door and opened it again, to find a bright red Andrew still outside and a laughing Moriarty. 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry. He doesn't usually react like this.'

'It's fine. I'm used to it.' Moriarty got out between fits of laughter. 'Sherlock and I used to be quite close.'

'Oh really?' John asked.

'Mm, I can't say I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned me before.'

'Huh.' John turned to glare at me. 'Dare I ask how you knew him?'

'Let's just say... Intimately.' Jim winked at me over John's shoulder. 'Come on, Andrew. You have other people to introduce me to. Nice to see you again, love.'

* * *

After staring at the empty space for a few seconds, John slowly shut the door. 'Intimately.' Was all he said.

'Best you don't ask.' I replied simply.

'Intimately.' John repeated.

'Don't ask.'

'_Intimately._'

'Jesus, John! Stop saying that!' I stalked off into my bedroom.

John followed me and stood in the doorway. 'How intimate is _intimately_?'

'Fuck, John. We dated, okay?'

He shrunk back at that. 'Intimately.'

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed loudly. 'Intimately.'

'I shouldn't ask, should I.'

'For fuck's sake. No. You shouldn't. _Like I said._'

John turned and left the room. I could still hear him muttering '_intimately_' as he went off to his own bed for the night.


	12. Cornered

**A/N: **Wow this is a bit strange. I leave you with nothing for MONTHS and now I'm updating twice in one week! Anyhoo, this is just a reeeeeally short chapter to set things up for the next one (I'll probably leave you hanging for a while) so that I can remember where I'm heading with this... But uh. Yeah. I should be doing my History research thingy (don't leave homework until the last minute, people - I've had over a month to do this, haven't really started and it's due on Tuesday) but I just wanted to get something out for your consideration ^u^ Thank you, my lovelies!

* * *

The next morning when I woke up, John was already awake and sitting in the living area. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and his iPod in the other.

'John? What are you doing up? It's 5.30.' I yawned and walked past him towards the door.

'I was hoping to corner you and get an answer about the whole Jim thing.' He replied, removing his headphones.

'Well, you're not going to get one, so you may as well quit trying.'

John sighed. 'Why won't you tell me?'

'It's none of your business.'

'Aha.' He stood and came to be in front of me. 'You know I won't stop bugging you, right?'

I fought the urge to smile. 'Unfortunately.'

'So why don't you just say?'

'Maybe one day I will, but today is not that day.'

'You won't say anything? At all?' John tilted his head. 'At least tell me how you met.'

I rolled my eyes. 'We met while I was staying with my uncle and aunt in Ireland a few years ago. While I was there, I was forced to go to school. Moriarty was charged with showing me around and we... hit it off.'

'Is that it? I was expecting something more dramatic from how you acted yesterday.'

'Shut up, John. I wasn't finished.' I snapped. 'Basically, he got me into some bad things, my brother found out, removed me from the situation and I haven't seen him since.'

'You didn't go back to Ireland?'John asked.

'No.' I shook my head. 'My brother thought that would be unwise.'

'Why?'

I paused. 'Because, John, victims of horrific abuse are often protective of their abusers. It doesn't mean we should send them back for seconds.'

* * *

**A/N:**I know, I'm horrible. Anyway - I do not own Elementary or its characters etc etc etc as much as I'd like to, but I have watched pretty much the entire season in 3 weeks, between school and work and blah blah blah. (I didn't get much sleep last night.) So I'm off to research, finish the final of Elementary, and eat Pringles (yum). Ttfn! ^u^


	13. Glass

**A/N: **I haven't updated in months, and now I'm updating twice in one day. What's wrong with me? In other news, I still haven't started my History project, I'm slowly losing my mind and beginning to freak out a bit. So yeah. Enjoy the fruits of my procrastination.

* * *

John blinked. 'I'm sorry.'

_What the fuck did you say that for?! _'I shouldn't have said that.'

'Sherlock –'

'I'm sorry.' I unlocked the door and walked swiftly down the corridor to get some coffee. I could hear John calling after me in blatant disregard for the "No yelling in the corridors before 7am" rule.

_Not the smartest thing you could have done. By far. _I mentally slapped myself. That was a bad thing to say.

I yanked my phone out of my pocket and opened a blank text. I sat down at a table with my freshly made coffee as I stared at the screen.

_I just did something stupid. –SH_

_Oh, that's new. –MH_

_Not the time, Mycroft. –SH_

_What did you do, dare I ask? –MH_

_I said something to John about Moriarty, who – by the way – is my neighbour. –SH_

_Oh? What did you say? –MH_

_Long story short: Victims of horrific abuse are often protective of their abusers. It doesn't mean we should send them back for more. –SH_

_Ah. And what did he think of that? –MH_

_I'm not sure. I left the room. –SH_

_Well, what do you want me to do about it? –MH_

_I thought I should inform you that I will be returning home for a few days. –SH_

_Hah. No, you aren't. You have no reason to leave school. –MH_

_I can't explain to John. –SH_

_Get over yourself. You're going to have to at some point. –MH_

_You're an idiot. –SH_

_Am I? –MH_

I rolled my eyes. So I wouldn't be going home, and I didn't want to talk to John about what I had just unleashed. Oh well. I stood up and wandered back to my room.

* * *

As I had expected, John was still up when I got back. He watched me carefully as I made a beeline for my bedroom.

'Sherlock?'

'What.' I stopped and stayed facing inside my room.

'Do you want to talk about it?'

'No.'

'No?'

'Not right now.' I replied, continuing into my room and shutting the door. Hopefully, John wouldn't bring it up again. Maybe, if I was lucky, he'd forget I ever mentioned it. I knew I wouldn't be so lucky.

* * *

_John is treating me like I'm made of glass and he's afraid I'll break. –SH_

_Will you? –MH_

_No. That's the problem. I got over that long ago, and he seems fixated on it somehow. –SH_

_Maybe you should just tell him. –MH_

_Why would I? –SH_

_He'll leave you alone afterwards. I'm sure he would understand as well. –MH_

_No. He won't. No one does. –SH_

_You sound like a teenage girl, Sherlock. Stop being so dramatic. –MH_

_Shut up, Mycroft. –SH_

_If you don't want my advice, why do you text me? –MH_

_Sometimes I wonder. –SH_


	14. Conversations in Text

**A/N: **Ahhh! So many updates! Again, another chapter due to procrastination. I have two days to do an entire research project. Guess who's stocking up on energy drink, coffee and apples? At least Monday is a public holiday. So, with that in mind, I'm tossing up starting another chapter or my project... (It's going to be another chapter, methinks. Oh yes, I have changed my Tumblr URL again. I am now daniellewinchester due to a lengthy conversation with two of my friends (who are sammaewinchester and constiel - yes, we are very witty) about who in Supernatural we would be. Also, if any of you have read my other (complete) Teen!Lock, _A Flawed Design_, I must apologise. I went back and read some of it last night and I was cringing at myself in certain parts. *Shakes head* Horrible. So yeah. Here is another chapter for you! ^u^

* * *

_You don't have to talk to me about what happened. I just want you to talk to me, period. –JW_

_Talk about what, then? –SH_

_I don't know, I haven't talked to you for days. –JW_

_Maybe I don't want to talk at all. –SH_

_Well I do. –JW_

_You know, there was a time when we never spoke and it didn't matter. –SH_

_We weren't dating then, were we? –JW_

_Hah. I wouldn't really even call this dating. –SH_

_John? –SH_

_John, I'm sorry. –SH_

_Are you? –JW_

* * *

_I think we should talk about this. –SH_

_About what, how we aren't dating? –JW_

_Yes. –SH_

_Are you honestly saying you would rather break up than tell me what happened? –JW_

_Something like that. –SH_

_Fine. Say it then. –JW_

_Say what? –SH_

_You know what. –JW_

_John, I think we should break up. –SH_

_That wasn't so difficult, was it? –JW_

* * *

_I just broke up with John. –SH_

_What do you want me to do about it? –MH_

_Nothing. I thought you should know I'm coming home by myself for Christmas. –SH_

_Were you planning to bring John? –MH_

_Mm. That plan has been shot to Hell now though, really. –SH_

_A bit. I'll send the car up next week, as usual. –MH_

_I look forward to it. Make sure the liquor cabinet is fully stocked. –SH_

_Is it going to be of those visits, is it? –MH_

_More so than usual, yes. –SH_

_Oh dear. –MH_

* * *

_What are you doing for Christmas? –JW_

_Why are you texting me? We aren't together. –SH_

_Just interested. –JW_

_Well, if you must know, I'm going home to London. –SH_

_Oh, fun. –JW_

_Not particularly. I'll be stuck with my brother the entire time while my parents are somewhere in France. __I'm only going because he has much more lax rules to do with my many vices than my parents do_. –SH

_What might they be? –JW_

_You don't need to know. We aren't together, John. –SH_

_Sorry. Well, I'm staying here. –JW_

_Not going to your family? –SH_

_Nah, they all went off somewhere without me. –JW_

_Oh. –SH_

_Mm. I'll just stay here by myself then. No big deal. –JW_

* * *

_I'm going to ask John to come back to London with me for Christmas. –SH_

_Why? I thought you had broken up. –MH_

_We have. He's going to be alone here for the holidays otherwise. –SH_

_Fine. Bring him. I'll have a bedroom made up for him. –MH_

_Thank you. –SH_

* * *

_Do you want to come to London for Christmas? My brother has approved you to stay with us for the duration. –SH_

_As friends? –JW_

_Yes, just as friends. –SH_

_I suppose so. I'll check with my parents. –JW_

_They said it's fine. –JW_

_Good. There's a car coming for us next Saturday. Make sure you have packed everything you need before then. –SH_

_Okay. Thank you, Sherlock. –JW_


	15. Home Sweet Home

**A/N: **I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I'm not expecting to upload anything more for a few days. Weeks. Months. (I'm joking. Maybe.) I really need to do my History project, I have a Classical Studies project due in by the 28th, and I have some other writing to do (one piece is for a scholarship for the University I'm applying to) so I don't know how much time I'll have. So uh. Yeah. Enjoy this while you can. Thank you for all the favouriting, following and reviewing you guys are doing! ^u^

* * *

I had a feeling I would regret inviting John to London with me. Nevertheless, when the car arrived on Saturday morning, I knocked on John's door and we set on our way back to London.

We didn't speak in the car, not that I was expecting us to. John listened to his iPod the whole way, practically ignoring me. Part of me hoped he would stay like this while we were in London. There was a possibility he might, and leave me to myself, but since when was John ever one to leave me alone?

After a few hours travelling, we finally arrived outside my house. John and I grabbed our suitcases from the boot of the car and walked up to the door. John slowly took out his headphones and looked at me.

'I wasn't expecting this.' He said quietly.

'People don't.' I turned my key in the lock and pushed open the door. 'Leave your stuff in the hall. I don't know what room was made up for you.'

'Am I not staying in your room?' John asked.

'You are here as my friend and guest, not my boyfriend.' I replied, hanging my key on the hook beside the door. 'I'll give you a tour as we go, I suppose.'

'Sounds like a good idea.'

'Right. Well, obviously we are currently in the entrance hall. The bottom floor of the house isn't that difficult to navigate. Everything is fairly open. Dining room to the left, first lounge area and bar behind that. To the right is the kitchen, with the library around the back of that.' We went up the first flight of stairs. 'This floor has my parents' bedroom, their study, a second lounge area, two guest rooms and a bathroom.'

'Will either of those guest rooms be made for me?' John asked.

I shook my head. 'Unlikely. They tend to be reserved for family or friends of my parents.'

We headed up the next flight of stairs and John paused at the landing to look out the window. 'There's a nice view from here.' He said.

'I suppose. I never paid much attention to it.' I replied dismissively. 'This floor has mine and my brother's rooms, a second study, three guest rooms and another bathroom. Which of the rooms is yours, I'm not sure, so see if you can find one with a made bed, and I'll bring our suitcases up.'

I left John to find his room, while I went downstairs to get our cases. I used the time to send a quick update to Mycroft.

_We're at home. Which room did you get made for him? –SH_

_The one beside the bathroom. Third floor, as I'm sure you guessed. –MH_

I carried the cases upstairs, to see no sign of John. 'John? Where are you?' I called, dumping the cases on the landing.

'I'm not sure. Possibly Mycroft's room?' He replied.

I followed his voice down the hall and into the room, second on the left. 'John, this is my room. Mycroft's is locked.'

John looked surprised. 'This is your room?'

'Yes. Couldn't you tell by the violin?'

'Apparently not. I didn't think your room would look like this.' He admitted.

I looked around my room. I supposed he was right. My room was light and open. The walls were scattered with paintings and drawings, the bookshelves were full and tidy and my desk was covered with stacks of paper. The bed was neatly made – not by me, obviously – and my armchair was sitting in its usual spot beside my window. 'I suppose you were expecting a dark and gloomy room?'

'Something like that.' John smiled. 'I like this though. It's nice.'

'Thanks, I guess. Mycroft told me which room is yours.' I nodded towards the corridor. 'I'll show you.'

John nodded and followed me out the door. 'Should I get my suitcase?'

'Might as well.'

John went back to get his case and returned a few seconds later. 'Okay then. Where am I?'

I turned and went down the hall. 'That room is Mycroft's,' I said, pointing. 'Bathroom beside that, and yours is next to the bathroom.' I opened the door and waved him inside.

'This is nice.' He put his suitcase on the bed. 'Can I check out the bathroom?'

'Go for it.'

He walked past me and opened the door. 'Excuse me for saying this, but it's a bit bare.'

'We don't use it. The bedrooms in use have ensuites.' I explained.

'Oh.'

'Well. Um.' I ran my hand through my hair. 'I'll be in my room if you need anything. Feel free to help yourself to food or whatever.'

John nodded. 'Will do.'

'Good.' I replied, turning to walk back down the stair and making a beeline for the liquor cabinet.


End file.
